Our 11^th annual December Score-O will be on Sunday December 8, starting from the north side of Umstead State Park. The “Score-O” format means that there is no predetermined route; instead, competitors decide which controls they want to visit, and in which order. This event will have 2-, and 4-hour options and is open to any orienteer or adventure racer who has successfully completed the equivalent of an advanced (orange, brown, green, red, or blue) orienteering course. All races will start from the small shelter at Umstead North (GPS =35.87205, -78.7597279). Note that this is not the larger shelter that we typically use.

There are a few differences between this year’s event and those of years past. In particular:

a. There will not be a mass start. Competitors may start any time between 9:00 AM and noon. However, everyone must be done with their course by 2:00 PM. This means that if you want to give yourself a full four hours on the course, you will need to start before 10:00 AM. Another implication of having individual starts is that there will not be a group briefing before the race. This means that it will be particularly important to read the posted course notes before starting your race.

b. Both the 4-hour and the 2-hour courses will be printed on one 11 x 17” page. We will provide a bag for this map. Map scale for the 4-hour event will be 1:15000; map scale for the 2-hour version will be 1:10000.

c. Map handout will begin no later than 8:30, and you will be allowed to study the map and plan your route for as long as you like before starting.

Please note that there are very few working water fountains on the course, so runners in the 4-hour race are encouraged to carry their own water supply or water treatment methods.

Filed under: Latest News, Next Events by David Waller